Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 25, 1994 TAG: 9404250114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
When Lawton Chiles was elected governor of Florida in 1990 despite his recent treatment for depression with the drug Prozac, some mental health advocates thought the millennium had arrived.
Eighteen years and an eternity had passed, it seemed, since Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton was dumped from the No. 2 spot on the 1972 Democratic presidential ticket after it was revealed he had received electric shock therapy.
"From Eagleton to Chiles," said Robert J. Gabriele, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Virginia, "we thought this was the sea change."
Now, Gabriele and others are less sure.
Earlier this month, a nasty little exchange in the battle for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination exposed the raw nerve endings still surrounding terms such as "depression" and "mood swing disorder."
Attention to former Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North's mental problems two decades ago after leaving Vietnam, and the disclosure that rival Jim Miller once sought a psychiatrist's help, left mental health advocates and others revisiting old questions:
Is a history of mental health treatment a liability in a political campaign? How much does the public need - or deserve - to know about a candidate's mental health? Is seeking professional help a sign of instability or strength?
"For all the progress we're making, there is still a segment of the population that thinks of mental illness as a character weakness," said a somewhat discouraged Gabriele.
"Political campaigns, by nature, cater to the lowest common denominator."
When Miller recently released voluminous personal records and challenged North to do the same, many mental health advocates - including Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore - thought he was indirectly appealing to concerns about North's mental stability.
Miller, who denied any ulterior motive, was questioned about his own medical history after releasing the documents. He acknowledged consulting with a psychiatrist four years ago, but declined to elaborate. "This is a family matter," he said. Aides abruptly ended the news conference.
In a brief statement, Miller later said he conferred with the doctor four or five times after his father's death from cancer "to learn more about a mood swing disorder" affecting several generations in his family. He has declined to comment further.
Tipper Gore, who has adopted mental health issues as a personal cause, contacted The Associated Press to complain. "This reminds me of 1954 and the way that we treated and discussed mental illness," she said. "It is time to end these outdated stereotypes and talk Miller about medical realities."
Treatment or no, historians say the mental health of politicians always has played a role in government.
Abraham Lincoln experienced mood swings so severe that some students of history believe he may have been manic depressive.
C. Knight Aldrich, a retired professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia, thinks American history might have been altered if President Calvin Coolidge's son hadn't died from blood poisoning after getting an infected blister.
Aldrich cautions that making a diagnosis on the basis of historical documents is risky, but he believes the death sent Coolidge into a depression so deep that the once-activist politician was transformed into the do-nothing president many remember.
"I believe he had a prolonged grief reaction, which lasted the rest of his life," Aldrich said. "There's some suggestion that had he been less depressed, he would have taken more action about the coming [economic] Depression."
The modern-day politician most associated with mental illness is Eagleton, who was considered a political golden boy before the disclosure that he had undergone electric shock treatment for depression.
"It was like a nuclear bomb being dropped in the midst of a campaign," recalled Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Political Report, a biweekly political newsletter in Washington, D.C.
However, Eagleton's subsequent performance in the U.S. Senate did not appear to suffer because of any mental disorder.
In the 1988 presidential race, there were rumors that Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis had been treated for depression after his brother was killed by a hit-and-run driver and again after he lost a Democratic gubernatorial primary in Massachusetts.
Like Miller, then-Vice President George Bush appeared to highlight the matter by releasing his health records and challenging Dukakis to do the same.
Dukakis eventually denied the rumors, but not before the National Mental Health Association had written a letter urging him to "look beyond clearing your medical records with the public. Take on the issue of stigma which surrounds mental illness for the 10 million Americans who suffer from depression each year."
Two years later, Chiles appeared to be doing just that as he readily acknowledged treatment with Prozac, a popular antidepressant drug. The public reaction suggested that politicians who acknowledge and confront their mental problems have less to fear than many imagine.
"I think he demonstrated his candor and humanity, and people responded to him with warmth," said Ron Sachs, Chiles' director of communications.
Still, the reaction of both the North and Miller campaigns suggests skittishness about public attitudes. Both candidates declined to be interviewed about the issue. Three Democratic candidates agreed to talk but said they've never undergone psychiatric or psychological care.
"I'm certain any candidate's better off if there's nothing like It's just like a physical illness. The same rules apply. Gina White National Mental Health Association spokeswoman, on judging a candidate's mental health and ability to function that, and Virginia's more conservative than most states," said Hastings Wyman, editor of the Southern Political Report, a Washington, D.C., newsletter.
"It's not fatal," he added. "It's weighed in the context of a lot of other things."
A 1991 public opinion survey, taken for the National Mental Health Association by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, confirms the risk. Forty-three percent of the 1,022 adults surveyed said they see depression as a personal weakness. Another 11 percent said they weren't sure whether it's a weakness or a health problem.
However, others argue that the public should look favorably on those who've sought professional help for emotional problems. The mere fact that one has never sought treatment is no proof of emotional well-being, they say.
"I suspect that a good number of politicians under stress become rageful," noted Sylvia Clute, a candidate in the Democratic primary. Yet such characteristics may be easily hidden from public view.
Neither Miller's treatment for a grief-related depression nor North's post-Vietnam and marital stress sets off alarms in the mental health community. But some analysts say the political fallout appears greater for North.
"The problem for North is that there's already a perception out there that he is a loose cannon with some difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction," said Rothenberg, whose political roots are conservative, although his newsletter is nonpartisan.
Both mental health advocates and political analysts say the bottom-line test of a candidate's mental health is ability to function.
"It's just like a physical illness. The same rules apply," said Gina White, a NMHA spokeswoman.
And Wyman of the Southern Political Report added: "The best test is to look at their record in public office, in business. They may be a miserable spouse, but they could still be pretty good on the job."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB